page_title: FN FAL
section_title: Users
hierarchical_section_title: FN FAL / Users
caption_attribution_description: Operation / Series: RESTORE HOPE MORE CARE Right side profile of five members of the Nigerian Army kneeling on the ground about ten to fifteen feet apart. They are establishing a perimeter near the old airfield north of Mogadishu, Somalia. This mission is part of Operation More Care, which is in direct support of Operation Restore Hope. More Care provided the people of Mogadishu (not shown) with basic medical and dental from 2 December to 4 December 1993.
context_page_description: The FAL is a battle rifle designed by Belgian small arms designer Dieudonné Saive and manufactured by FN Herstal.
  During the Cold War the FAL was adopted by many countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, with the notable exception of the United States. It is one of the most widely used rifles in history, having been used by more than 90 countries. Because of its prevalence and widespread usage among the militaries of many NATO and first world countries during the Cold War, it received the title "The right arm of the Free World".
  It is chambered for the 7.62×51mm NATO cartridge. The British Commonwealth variant of the FAL was redesigned from FN's metrical FAL into British imperial units and was produced under licence as the L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle.
context_section_description:  Angola
   Argentina: Produced under license. It's the regular rifle of the Argentine Armed Forces, It's used by the Army, Air Force and a secondary rifle in the Navy. The FAL M5 variant in use.
   Bahrain
   Bangladesh: Withdrawn from service. In reserve.
   Barbados
   Belize
   Bolivia
   Brazil: Produced under license.
   Burundi
   Cambodia
   Cameroon
   Central African Republic
   Chad
   Colombia
   Comoros
   Congo-Kinshasa
   Costa Rica
   Cyprus
   Djibouti
   Dominican Republic
   Ecuador
   Egypt: FN FALs were used by Unit 707 during Egyptian raid on Larnaca International Airport
   Gambia
   Ghana
   Greece it is being used by Hellenic police forces and in limited numbers in Hellenic army reserve forces
   Guyana
   Haiti
   Honduras
   Iraq: Iraqi insurgents
   Ireland: Used as the service rifle of the Irish Defence Forces from 1961 until 1989 when it was replaced by the Steyr AUG. However it remained in use with the Irish reserve forces until the early 2000s. In 2011, the Irish Army re-introduced an upgraded and modified version of the FN FAL as a sniper support weapon. The Irish Naval Service still use the FN FAL for line throwing.
   Ivory Coast
   Kenya
   Kuwait
   Lesotho
   Liberia
   Libya
   Malawi
   Mexico: Produced under license.
   Morocco
   Mozambique
   Myanmar: used surplus ex-German G1s
     Nepal
   Nigeria: Licensed by DICON (Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria) in Nigeria as the NR-1.
   Niger
   Oman
   Pakistan: Used by the Pakistan Army. In service with small numbers used during the Cold War.
   Panama
   Paraguay
   Peru
   Philippines: A few units of FALs were used by the AFP and Police during the 1970s, went into the hands of the MNLF rebels as seen during the 2013 siege of Zamboanga City.
   Qatar
   Rwanda
   Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
   Saudi Arabia
   Somalia
   South Africa: Produced under license by ARMSCOR. After a competition between the German G3 rifle, the Armalite AR-10, and the FN FAL, the South African Defence Force adopted three main variants of the FAL: a rifle with the designation R1, a "lightweight" variant of the FN FAL 50.64 with folding butt, fabricated locally under the designation R2, and a model designed for police use not capable of automatic fire under the designation R3. (200,000 were destroyed in UN-sponsored "Operation Mouflon" in 2001). A number of other variants of the R1 were built, the R1 HB, which had a heavy barrel and bipod, the R1 Sniper, which could be fitted with a scope and the R1 Para Carbine, which used a Single Point IR sight and had a shorter barrel. R1 was standard issue in the SADF until the introduction of the R4 in the early 1980s. Still used by the SANDF as a designated marksman rifle.
   Syria:
   Suriname
   Swaziland
   Tanzania
   Thailand: Used by Royal Thai Police since the 1960s, designated "Rifle Type 05" (1962).
   Togo
   Tunisia: Used by Tunisian National Guard.
   Turkey: Used by Turkish Land Forces as G1 between 1960s - 1980s.
   Uganda
   United Arab Emirates
   Uruguay
   Venezuela: Produced under license.
   Yemen
   Zambia
   Zimbabwe
caption: Nigerian troops in Somalia with FALs
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